At age 79, Dan Weiss has found an unconventional way to stay active, earn a solid income, and connect with people: by assembling furniture on TaskRabbit. The retired mortgage manager from Oakdale, Minnesota, earns up to $47 an hour assembling Ikea and other types of furniture, a job he said earns him $3,000 to $5,000 a month.
Dan told Business Insider that he retired in 2014 after decades running residential mortgage branches. At first, retirement seemed like a well-deserved break, but it didn’t take long before he noticed the lack of structure in his daily life. “Going from 100mph to 0 was very abrupt,” says Dan. “You can only do so much gardening and reading without feeling unfulfilled.”
Don’t miss:
After six months of traditional retirement, he was looking for something to keep himself busy without having to dip too much into his savings. Over the years, Dan tried part-time jobs at Costco, customer service positions, and driving for Uber and Lyft before reading about TaskRabbit in a local newspaper. Intrigued, he signed up and quickly discovered a gig he liked.
Since joining TaskRabbit in 2021, Dan has completed nearly 1,200 tasks and earned over $47,000 in 2023 alone. In a typical week, he performs one to three daily tasks, four to five days a week, often traveling within 30 minutes of his home.
His customers come from all walks of life and the variety keeps things interesting. In addition to the income, Dan appreciates the social aspect. “I meet people from all walks of life and find their stories interesting. I enjoy this aspect of completing tasks the most,” he told BI.
Related: It’s No Wonder Jeff Bezos Owns Over $70 Million in Art — this alternative asset has outperformed the S&P 500 since 1995, with an average annual return of 11.4%. Here’s how regular investors get started.
Like many retirees, Dan has struggled with the financial and emotional challenges associated with leaving the workforce. According to the Nationwide Protected Retirement Survey, 82% of Americans over 45 regret not taking retirement planning seriously sooner. While he’s happy that his TaskRabbit income is supplementing his savings, he’s also aware that better planning could have eased some of the pressure.
